The Hood
The Hood Is a character frequently appearing in the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds, and the movie Thunderbirds (film) 2004. He is the antagonist and arch nemesis of Jeff Tracy and International Rescue. Series History The Hood is of mysterious unknown origins; it has never been declared in what his full background and parentage is; though it is known that he is the half brother of Kyrano Relationship to Kyrano, and therefore also related to Tin Tin. He is able to take control of Kyrano with an unexplained tele-hypnosis power. His secret hideout and headquarters appears to be in a pyramid-like temple where he communicates and takes on his next mission; usually from a ruthless leader or would be leader, or simply the highest bidder, General X has been one of his clients. A master criminal who uses many disguises and aliases, such as Agent 79, in order to penetrate his intended target. From here, he is seen to contact his brother, or using the most up to date equipment, make preparations. Despite his superior villainous background, he is continually thwarted by International Rescue; Taking down the only organization that have manage to stop him is one of his highest priorities, sometimes causing disasters in order to sabotage or track the Thunderbird crafts. However, he works alone and facing this phenominal adversary at every twist and turn, often wrong foots him. There have been several times when he has all but gotten away with it, then prevented during his escape. Personality Smart, ambitious, daring and calculating, The Hood so far has worked alone; he is either unable or refuses to trust anybody else. This arrogance is probably one of his weak traits, once running him into trouble after finally succeeding in his plans and making his escape; The Hood sees a road block which he assumed had been set up to stop only him. He drove straight through only to find that the road block was to prevent people from entering a danger zone where the bridge was out. He has become obsessed with taking down International Rescue to the degree that he often focuses more on his adversary than his original plan. Strategy is something that he appears to be good at, but when outwitted shows lack of improvisation. Movie (2004) History Played by Ben Kingsley, The Hood is again cloaked in mystery; however, we learn that due to being trapped and left to die by Jeff Tracy, the Hood was able to develop a telekinetic ability over other humans while being incapacitated and eventually recuperating. He attempts to exact his revenge on Jeff Tracy, his family and International Rescue, in order to obtain complete freedom for his nefarious activities and immense personal satisfaction. Using a small team of reprobates, and creating a disaster, The Hood manages to track one of the Thunderbirds. He then discovers the secret location of Tracy Island. Causing all but one of the family members to be trapped on Thunderbird 5, he steals Thunderbird 2 and the Mole in order to break into the Bank of London. Before making off with the craft Alan and Brains are unable to prevent him due to him controlling there movements. The Hood uses his powers on them but each time weakens taking some time to recover. During the theft in London where Alan has manages to get to the vault using Thunderbird 1, he notices that The Hood is weakening while using his telekinetic power. Alan baits The Hood and ensures that eventually he is too weak to fulfill all his plans. Personality Ability to plan in faultless detail, superior plans along with the ability to improvise, The Hood is at the top of his game as a superior genius. Onle this time he is menaced by his need to gloat as he demonstrates his power over others; his only weakness in an otherwise flawless plan. Comics History The Hood in the comics is a much more developed character than he is in the original television series. His first appearance in the comics was in a story between Issue 72 to Issue 83 of the TV21 Comics in the story Atlantic Tunnel. A huge difference about the comics is that in 80% of the stories he is know to International Rescue as being called the Hood unlike in the TV series where he is never referred to as the Hood. However, the TV 21 Comic Tracy Island Exposed shows the first point where the members of International Rescue become aware of his name. Personality Black Phantom It has long been debated by fans whether the Black Phantom from Thunderbird 6 is the Hood himself. This is mainly due to the fact that there is no true feature about the Black Phantom to link him to the Hood, except his face. Even though the same puppet (of the Hood) was used for the Black Phantom, some fans have said that there is nothing about his plan that makes sense. Another difference is that the Black Phantom had hair in the movie, which is completely different to the baldness the Hood has in the first series and Thunderbirds Are Go. Though one could argue that this was one of the Hood's disguises. A big thing is that the character was not voiced by Ray Barrett but instead Gary Files due to Barrett's moving back to Australia. This aspect is another reason why fans believe he is not the same character. Real Name Even though the Hood himself was never referred to as the Hood in the TV series, he has been even more alveolus about his actual name. In issue 65 of ‘’Thunderbirds The Comics’’’ it was stated that The Hood's real name is Bela Gaat. As this story was written by Alan Fenell some fans have liked to believe that it can officially be his name. In 2008 the Joan Marie Verba's book Countdown To Action!, it is said that the Hoods name is Bela Ghat. Even though there is a slight difference in spelling, the Book name is still pronounced the same way as the comic version. Trivia * The only International Rescue members to have come face to face with him are Brains and Tin Tin, who he hypnotized, and Scott in the Zero X MEV. * Scott is the only member of International Rescue to have seen the Hood unmasked. * Due to the ongoing debate between as to whether the Hood and the "Black Phantom" are the same person, the last "official" appearance of the Hood was in Thunderbirds Are Go (film) where he is seemingly killed when his helicopter is shot down. References Category:Thunderbirds Category:Thunderbirds characters